I have Server 2003 x86 installed on Server 2008 x64 Hyper-V. I have been trying to upgrade Server 2003 to 2008 standard, but it freezes at first boot after installation with just a mouse icon in the center of the guest window.

The steps I have taken:

Make a copy of original VM in case of disaster.

start up copy

uninstall powershell 1.0 and hyper-v guest add-ons/drivers

insert tested Server 2008 standard x86 iso and start upgrade installation

install success and reboots.

Windows load screen, goes black, mouse icon appears, hourglass icon appears momentarily.

screen stays black with mouse icon with no change even next day.

Why are you uninstalling the Hyper-V Integration Components from your Server 2003 VM prior to upgrading it to 2008?

This was only necessary when migrating from Virtual Server / Virtual PC / VMware to Hyper-V.  Not when upgrading the OS within an existing Hyper-V VM.

And, have you tried booting the VM into the 2008 recovery console after the upgrade?  To fix what I am guessing is in incorrect HAL or other hardware detection?

I uninstalled just as a troubleshooting step since previous attempts to update with Hyper-V Integration Components installed failed. 

I booted into recovery console and ran startrep, but was unable to get sfc /scannow to run.

• Edited by Daggorlad 10 hours 34 minutes ago

Was the Server 2003 Sp2 system installed as a VM?  Or was it a conversion from a physical machine?

It was originally a bare metal system that was converted using Symantec System Recovery.

I was curious as there is almost always strange things that are encountered over time when there is a P2V that are never encountered when the machine was always a VM.

I am guessing that there are some legacy hardware agents or drivers in that VM that are not handling the upgrade properly.

Be sure that you have removed all traces of that machine being on hardware.  Leave the integration components installed, and try again.

Also, try reducing the number of virtual processors the VM has, or possibly the RAM.  And be sure that dynamic memory is not enabled on your copied VM you are testing with.

Hi Daggorlad,

We could try to install a new VM running Server 2008 and migrate the data and application from the old one.

It could avoid failure and loss of data.

Best Regards,

Leo